This month Mehrsa Baradaran, Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives at the University of Georgia School of Law and author of The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap joins Imani Darden, Knowledge Management Program Officer and Maurice Jones in a conversation on the history of the racial wealth gap and its impact on economic prosperity for communities of color.

We are back this month with Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law, a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow, emeritus, at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP. In this episode, we delve into the historical context for the work LISC does, through the prism of the book’s major theme: residential racial segregation, which was enforced via federal and local law and policy though much of the 20th century.

Maurice A. Jones, LISC’s CEO and president, joined the Rail-Volution podcast to talk about LISC’s approach to catalyzing opportunity in the place we work. Covering everything from Opportunity Zones and the Partnership for the Bay’s housing fund, to how health and transit intersect, the conversation highlights how intentional investment is key to transformation.

This month we celebrate Black History Month, reflecting on the current state and future of the community development sector with a focus on racial equity. Joining Maurice and Morgan this month is Michael McAfee, President and CEO of PolicyLink, a dynamic leader in the advancement of equity work. McAfee echoes the fundamental nature race has continued to play in structurally designing outcomes for communities of color. The conversation explores what it means to be purposeful in incorporating racial equity lens in community development work, with and on behalf of communities across America.

LISC CEO Maurice A. Jones and Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, make the imperative case for two key housing programs in an op-ed for Affordable Housing Finance. As a new nominee is poised to take charge of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, they write, we must absolutely safeguard the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund, which have provided essential support for affordable housing creation in the midst of the affordability crisis.